Growing up in an Italian-American household was, for me, pretty special. My mother, Gina, an immigrant from Calabria, held on to so many of her family's traditions that at times, regardless of the fact that I was living in the United States, our home felt like part of Italy.
To this day, my mother only speaks to me in Italian, and our conversations are, for the most part, in her mother tongue. And most of those conversations are about food. For us, food — Italian food — is an important part of our lives.
My mom Gina grew up on a farm where the fruits of their labor directly turned into the food on the table, and wasting any of it was unacceptable. Every day was “Thanksgiving” because times were tough, so food — and how it found its way onto the table ——was a holy matter. One of the greatest lessons my mother taught me in the kitchen is to cook what you have on hand, and to never let anything go to waste.
So, when I take a perfect little arancini(意大利饭团)out of the hot oil. I am immediately transported back to my childhood: I am a little girl getting off the bus and running through the back door to the smell of the food. This small snack symbolizes so many important tenements(经济公寓)in my life about my heritage(传承)through food.
Heritage food is Sunday dinner with the family. When we preserve and recreate dishes like that, we feel a sense of pride and also a sense of continuity. Heritage food is the love we receive from our parents and grandparents, and it's the love we in turn give to our children and grandchildren. Heritage food is food that makes you feel safe and protected wherever and whenever you eat it.
Eating arancini, and all the other recipes my mother continues to make here in the U.S. after leaving Italy, allow her to teach me who I am, where I come from, and why I should be proud of it all.
1.What can we know about the author's mom?
A.She is very strict with her children.
B.She refuses to learn to speak English.
C.She thinks her life in the U.S. special.
D.She values her family's traditions a lot.
2.What does the author imply by mentioning “Thanksgiving” in paragraph 3?
A.She enjoyed the food her mother cooked.
B.This holiday was very important for her mother.
C.Her family treasured the food that didn't come easily.
D.The food was delivered to her family on Thanksgiving.
3.What does the author think of heritage food?
A.It is becoming popular among American families.
B.It passes on family love from generation to generation.
C.It offers a sense of safety when one lives in America.
D.It reminds parents to take good care of their children.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Scientists have found a potentially habitable(可居住的)planet and its star outside our Solar System are more similar to the Earth and our Sun than any other known planet-star pair. For now, the planet candidate(候选)is known as KOI-456.04. If its existence is confirmed by other telescopes, the planet would join a group of about 4,000 known planets outside our Solar System.
“It's the combination of its size less — than — double that of the Earth and its solar-type host star that makes it so special and familiar” Ren6 Heller, the lead author of the new study, said in a press release. That means it could potentially host life.
To be considered habitable, planets must orbit a stable star that keeps a temperature suitable for liquid water. The vast majority of identified Earth-like planets don't meet the conditions required for life to exist. They give off either too weak light or high-energy flames that can fry the planets around them. The star that KOI-456.04 orbits is about 1.1 times the size of the Sun, with a surface temperature of only 300 degrees Celsius less than the Sun. The star also sends out visible light, like our Sun does. Plus, KOI-456.04 is less — than — double the size of the Earth, which could mean its atmospheric conditions are similar to ours. If KOI-456.04 s atmosphere is like the Earths — meaning it has a mild greenhouse effect, then its average surface temperature would be about 5 degrees Celsius, compared to the Earth's average of 15 degrees Celsius, according to the Max Planck Institute .
The system is just over 3,000 light-years away from our Solar System. Future space telescopes could study the planet candidate further. NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency plan to launch(发射)the James Webb space telescope in 2021. The European Space Agency's PLATO space telescope, scheduled to launch in 2026, will focus on finding Earth-like planets orbiting Sun-like stars.
1.What makes the newly-found planet special?
A.Its strange name. B.Its extremely large size.
C.Its potential to host life. D.Its relationship with the Sun.
2.What does the underlined word “orbit” mean in paragraph 3?
A.Move around. B.Stick to.
C.Knock into. D.Depend on.
3.Which of the following do the scientists care while studying KOI-456.04?
A.What kind of energy its host star provides.
B.Whether its atmosphere is similar to the Earth's.
C.How many agencies are willing to join in the study.
D.Why its surface temperature is lower than the Earth's.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Researchers have discovered a new bacterium that feeds on polyurethane, a kind of plastic that is difficult to recycle or destroy. Scientists say the discovery could help reduce a flood of hard — to — recycle plastics that are ending up in the world's landfills（垃圾填埋地） and polluting oceans.
A team from the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Leipzig, Germany, found the new type of soil bacteria. It was spotted in an area that contained a large amount of plastic waste. The team discovered the bacteria were feeding on polyurethane diol, which was widely used in many different products.
One problem is that recycling polyurethane requires a lot of energy. The plastic material does not melt when heated. Most polyurethane-based products end up in landfills, where they can release dangerous chemicals. The team round that the bacterium can produce enzymes（酶）that eat away polyurethane. This would make it possible to break down the material in the environment. The results were recently reported in a study in the publication Frontiers in Microbiology. Hermann Heipieper helped write the report. He said in a statement the finding “represents an important step in being able to reuse polyurethane products.”
German study noted that plastic-eating bacteria could be easily controlled and produced for industrial use. The researchers said the next step is to find more information about the bacterial enzymes that can break down polyurethane.
Scientist Douglas Rader wrote about the issue in a 2018 article for the Environmental Defense Fund. He said much more study should be carried out to learn about the complex relationships between bacteria and marine ecosystems. “Such research is needed before we can take action such as putting plastic-eating bacteria into the ocean,” Rader wrote.
1.What is the problem about polyurethane?
A.It seems difficult to transport when it goes to landfills.
B.It affects the quality of plastic products if widely used.
C.It melts easily when exposed to the sun for a long time.
D.It pollutes the environment unless recycled or destroyed.
2.What do we know about the new type of bacteria from the text?
A.It can produce harmful chemicals. B.It can gradually destroy polyurethane.
C.It is very hard to discover and control. D.It is very likely to increase plastic waste.
3.What is Douglas Rader's attitude towards the future use of the new bacterium?
A.Doubtful. B.Disapproval.
C.Cautious. D.Enthusiastic.
4.Which of the following is the best title for the text?
A.Plastic-eating Bacteria B.Plastic Waste — A Big Problem
C.Plastic and Ocean D.Polyurethane — A Bacteria killer
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
People are always denying their pain. They don't want to recognize it because they want to be sensed as okay, especially at this age. People are so concerned with being cool and being popular that they don't want to be the person with problems. 1.
Talking about matters will help you deal with what is bringing you down. Figuring out what makes you feel painful can be very beneficial because a lot of the time we are so mixed up with our emotions that we need to sort them out with others' help. 2. Find someone you trust and open your heart to them. Talk to an adult, a tutor or your parent. You'd be surprised to learn how kind people will be. 3. They are willing to make sure you are okay and if you're not, they want to do whatever they can to help you.
4. It's always okay to have secrets and things you simply want to keep to yourself. However, if something is really disturbing, meaning that you can't stop thinking about it, and that it is really bothering you, then you have to try to open up and talk about it. If you really don't want anyone to know, but still feel the need to talk about the issue and get help, there are hot lines in your area that you can call. The worst thing is to suffer alone.5. Remember that you deserve to be heard and you deserve to be helped.
A.Your silence is not making you stronger
B.A calm heart allows you to think logically.
C.It's not always possible to just rely on ourselves.
D.You don't have to share everything in your heart.
E.They worry about you and they just want the best for you.
F.People like to talk to you and share with you their inner world.
G.However, what you choose to run away from will finally catch up with you.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
I became a magician by accident. When I was nine I learned how to make a coin _______. At first the magic wasn't any good; it was just a bad_________ I spent hours each day _______ in the bathroom, running through the secret _______ in front of the mirror
One day I made the coin disappear on the playground. What a miracle(奇迹)! Dozens of people were _______ . I showed the coin to everyone. Then it disappeared. The kids _______ and laughed. It was great. Everyone went _______.
The teacher on duty crossed the playground to _______ more about it. Mrs. Tanner was a(n) _______ woman who controlled her class with an appetite(欲望)for ________ students She marched toward me and ________ to know what was going on.
The coin disappeared for her too. “Do it again,” she said angrily, and I did. My hands were ________, but when I looked up, everything had ________. I would remember the look on her face — the look of wide-eyed, open-mouthed ________.
I kept seeing my teacher's face — the strict look ________ into great wonder and joy ________. The kids' too. They had been ________ immediately from an indifferent(冷漠的)pack of creatures into real people. When the ________ of worry or pain had gone, the faces that shone without it were ________.
Magicians get to see people at their very best, and in this transformation we can see what can only be described as real, actual ________.
1.A.roll B.drop C.spin D.disappear
2.A.trick B.gesture C.joke D.word
3.A.reading B.thinking C.showering D.practising
4.A.talks B.moves C.smiles D.messages
5.A.watching B.performing C.debating D.playing
6.A.nodded B.whispered C.screamed D.sighed
7.A.crazy B.wrong C.blind D.hungry
8.A.find out B.try out C.leave out D.turn out
9.A.easy-going B.pleasant C.annoying D.clumsy
10.A.protecting B.punishing C.encouraging D.ignoring
11.A.promised B.begged C.pretended D.demanded
12.A.shaking B.rising C.flying D.dancing
13.A.started B.changed C.recovered D.ended
14.A.relief B.astonishment C.disappointment D.doubt
15.A.dividing B.falling C.softening D.breaking
16.A.in return B.as a result C.all at once D.as usual
17.A.admired B.recognized C.freed D.transformed
18.A.significance B.attempt C.weight D.example
19.A.familiar B.blank C.serious D.amazing
20.A.kindness B.magic C.talent D.education
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假定你是李华，你的英国朋友Tracy下个月将来你所在的城市参加夏令营活动，想要寄宿你家，但你有事无法接待。请你给她写一封邮件，内容包括：
1.表示歉意；
2.解释原因；
3.提供帮助。
注意：1.词数80左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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难度: 中等查看答案及解析
阅读下面短文，根据其内容写一篇60词左右的内容概要。
Choosing the right college can be a difficult task. There are thousands of colleges and universities for you to choose from and many are worthy of being considered. For each potential college, find out the success rate of students' getting their jobs, especially those related to your majors. Here are some strategies（策略）for you to make the right choice.
Colleges which offer practice in some of the fields are worthy of your attention. It can provide you with a large amount of information on job hunting. Companies often prefer employees that perform well. Practice gives you the valuable experience and necessary opportunities. Some practical skills that you learn will really prepare yourself for the certain jobs. Besides, choosing a college that has teacher members with good reputations in their fields can also be very useful since these teacher members can provide you with steps into the working world by practice.
School rankings and a national reputation of academic success are often the important factors（因素）for your potential employers. This type of information can be found easily on the Internet and in magazines. To the employers, graduates from high ranking colleges are often considered more reliable. They have a stronger ability to learn and are more likely to create wealth for the company. Sometimes it can even be a more important factor in looking for a job than the actual quality of education the college provides.
After narrowing down your choices to a few colleges, it's time to visit them. Taking a look at the campus（校园）can change your attitude to a particular school. Plan your tour and then do some research on your own. It is also important to talk to as many students as you can and find out if earning a degree from the school is helpful in getting a job. Meanwhile, you can speak to the students in the majors you're considering to know what the courses are like, what you'll learn, and what your expected outcome will be.
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难度: 简单查看答案及解析